Cold
by Dragonix
Summary: [COMPLETE] [EdRiza] It's snowing outside and the heating in Riza's apartment building is broken. So it looks like Edward will have to stay during one of his frequent visits. However, this will mean talking through the new developments in their relationshi
1. Cold

**Me: **This was originally a 4-page oneshot, then inspiration lept on me like a starved dog and now it's looking to be a short multi-chap. Like 2 or 3 chapters. Anywho, concrit on this is much appreciated! Concrit constructive criticism.

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Black Hayate, forever a curious dog, pressed his nose to Edward's limp, cold, auto-mail hand. Unfortunately, having a wet nose only the made the freezing contact all the more unpleasant and he whimpered, drawing his snout back and pawing at his nose with a paw.

Edward opened an eye from where he was sitting on the old black leather sofa that sat in the middle of Riza Hawkeye's living room. The tough, old material was cracked worn, but was too comfy (not to mention heavy, despite how many times Edward pointed out he could make it lighter) for the blonde woman to consider moving it and getting a new one.

Black Hayate twitched his ears and made a small keening noise when the cold metal hand plonked down on his head, rubbed once in apology before being removed. The black and white dog sniffed at it as it was stuffed in the folds of Edward's jacket in attempt to warm it up.

"I hate the cold." Edward stated sourly as Hayate settled down on the woven rug in front of the settee, resting his head on his paws. The alchemist shifted his auto-mail limbs gingerly, testing out the joints and wincing when stabbing pains shot from the ports and mechanics froze; the temperature too low to work at.

The blond man then cursed the fact the central heating system in the apartment building had broken, leaving all the inhabitants to go back to fire as a way of keeping warm in the bitter winter weather. He had been visiting Riza when the heating had stopped working and half an hour later, a poor worker had been sent round to inform them of the problem before shuffling off to tell everybody else. The lieutenant had told him to wait on the couch while she looked for the matches and there he was still was ten minutes on, wondering whether to go and help her look.

He didn't dwell on the idea much longer as Riza poked her head around the living room door's frame. "I found the matches." She informed him, stepping into the room and to the small fireplace in front of the worn leather couch. Crouching down, she lit a match, holding the small flame to the collection of wooden logs and starting a small blaze.

Edward relaxed gratefully at the heat, before getting up and limping slightly to sit beside Black Hayate and Riza when the blonde woman didn't move from the fire.

Riza caught the limp and narrowed her brown eyes in concern. "Is your auto-mail bothering you?" She questioned, scratching behind Black Hayate's ears when the small dog placed his head in her lap.

"A little." Edward replied with a smile that resembled more of a grimace. "It'll be fine in a while, once the metal warms up." He lifted his right arm in an experiment, flexing the fingers to see how the well they moved and sighed in irritation at the jerky movements. "Although getting all the movement back would be nice."

"I would get you warm towels, if I had any ways of warming them up." Riza told him, her expression apologetic.

"Eh. Maybe I can threaten Colonel Bastard to come up here and put those gloves of his to use?" Edward suggested, rubbing his leg port gently.

"General." Riza corrected him with a small, amused smile. "Besides, it's snowing outside, so…"

"And?" Edward cut in with a small snicker.

The lieutenant merely shook her head.

Resting his right arm on his knee, and his chin on the metal palm to get the limb a little closer to the hot fire without simply holding it out, Edward sighed slightly in contentment, shoulders shagging. A few minutes slipped by before he blinked, an idea popping into his head and he turned his around to face Riza. "Hey, does the kettle work?" He questioned.

The lieutenant frowned slightly before nodding. "Yes, why?"

Edward grinned t her and stood up slowly, rubbing away the imprint his auto-mail had left on his cheek. "Some coffee would be good." He told her, stretching lightly with a grimace before heading towards Riza's small kitchen. A slender hand on his left arm halted him and turned around to face the blonde woman with a confused expression crossing his features. "What is it?" He questioned, "You don't want any coffee?"

Riza shook her head. "No, I do, but I'll do it. You go back and sit by the fire." She instructed, nodding her head back towards the orange flames where Hayate was waiting, ears perked.

"It's ok. I can…" The alchemist started, but stopped at the stern glint in the lieutenant's reddish eyes, the kind of glint that often appeared when a certain brigadier general wasn't doing their paperwork. The corners of Edward's lips quirked up and he lifted is hands in mock surrender before limping lightly back over to the fire and Hayate.

Settling down beside the black and white dog as Riza disappeared into the kitchen, Edward sighed and tilted his head back to watch the ceiling idly.

Black Hayate cocked his head at the odd behaviour before plopping his head and paws onto Edward's left knee. Whining slightly, he twitched his ears to encourage the blond haired man to scratch them.

Edward glanced down at Hayate and raised an eyebrow before complying and rubbing the fur behind his black ears. "You know, this is what cats normally like." He pointed out to the small dog, earning him an opening of one sleepy brown eye before it closed again. The alchemist smiled at him before staring into the shifting flames of the fire, his eyes glazing over as he became lost in thought.

He had been visiting Riza regularly lately, as his younger brother had been so courteous to point out, and Winry had told him only the week before that he should "do something about them." But what the blonde mechanic had had in mind for what exactly he was meant to do, he had no idea.

Edward's lips pouted out slightly as his eyebrows knitted in thought and he rested his chin on metal hand again, a force of habit, as he wondered what Winry meant. Wrapped up deeply in his musings, as he often was, it was the waft of coffee being waved literally under his nose and the missing warmth of Black Hayate that finally brought him back to what was going on around him.

Riza raised an eyebrow at him before lifting one of the mugs she was holding. "Are you alright? You were very deeply in thought; you didn't hear me calling you."

"Sorry." The alchemist apologised, taking the china mug from her gratefully and sniffing deeply at the smell wafting from it before taking a long drawl, shuddering. He gave the lieutenant his full attention as she once again sat down beside him and was surprised when he spotted two wet towels hanging on her bare arm (she had rolled up her jumper sleeve, he noted), "…what?" He asked, unable to think of anything more intelligent to say.

"These?" Riza replied, plucking at the sudden towels with her now free hand. "These are for your auto-mail ports." She explained, setting down her own mug of coffee so that she had less to carry. "Seeing as the heaters aren't working, I had to use to warm water left in the kettle."

Edward nodded slowly in understanding before twitching in embarrassed realisation that he would have to take his clothes off in order make use of the towels. He stared at them, wondering if it would be rude to simply decline the offer and insist he'd be fine.

"I won't stare." The lieutenant assured him, breaking into the alchemist's thoughts. "And don't protest and say you're fine, either." She added when Edward opened his mouth.

He shut it and glanced at the towels Riza was holding before nodding his head defeat. "Alright." He said, slipping off his coat and pulling off the long sleeved black top underneath, shuddering at the loss of heat his clothes had given him and shifting close to the fire as a result.

Although Riza had told Edward she wouldn't stare, she was finding difficult to keep curiosity at bay when she handed the blond man a towel for his shoulder. She hadn't, after all, ever seen Edward's auto-mail port and frowned slightly when she realised just how much the metal covered his torso before getting a hold of herself and turning away politely.

Edward sighed in relief and relaxed under the warmth of the towel and experimented with the movement of his mechanical limb. "At least it's moving better now." He commented, pleased with the fluidity of the metal limb. He jolted slightly when something warm and wet nudged his flesh shoulder, and blinked when he realised it was the lieutenant handing him the second towel, her face turned away as she had promised. Taking the towel from her with murmured thanks, he rolled up his left trouser leg to apply it to the port there. "You don't have to turn away you know." He told her staring at the reflections from the fire on his metal shin.

Riza tilted her head around to face him, touching her elbow to his side when didn't look up. "I thought…" She started, but was cut off when Edward waved his left hand to interrupt.

"It's alright." He assured her. "It's just the full-on staring that's a little…" He paused to think of an appropriate word.

"Awkward?" Riza supplied, drinking from her coffee cup.

Edward nodded, reaching for his own mug and taking a sip. Sneaking a glance at the blond woman beside him, taking in the glow on her usually pale cheeks from the fire, Winry's 'advice' (because the more he thought about it, the more it sounded like a threat) came back to him, and he turned away abruptly, frustrated.

Riza blinked at him, perplexed. "What is it?"

"Eh… nothing." He replied, running his left hand through his hair and rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. He paused, scowling at floor before swallowing and turning to face her, suppressing the spreading red on his cheeks the best he could. "Could I try something, please?"

The lieutenant blinked at him, but nodded in the affirmative and set down her coffee cup.

Edward chewed on his bottom lip before attempting to relax his suddenly tense muscles and leaning forwards. Quickly, he shut his eyes and pressed his lips to Riza's cheek in a fleeting, if slightly clumsy, kiss.

Her breathing hitched and she sat still, reddish eyes widened slightly.

The alchemist pulled away quickly, the blush he had tried so hard to keep away creeping back up slowly and he looked at the floor to avoid her gaze. He had at least; he reminded himself, did something about his visits like Winry had said to do, but whether or not it was good decision was something else entirely.

Edward waited for a bit, but when Riza didn't say anything, he squashed down the squirming feeling in the pit of his belly and drained his coffee cup quickly. Taking the towels off (and noting vaguely that his auto-mail was working fine now) and pulling his shirt and coat, he stood up hurriedly. "Sorry!" He apologised hastily, folding the towels messily and placing them on the arm of the couch. "I'm sorry…" he repeated, quieter, as he plonked down the coffee cup on the small wooden table beside the couch. "I'll just go and…"

"Wait."

He stopped in what was quickly becoming babbling and looked up at her hesitantly, rubbing the toe of his boot on the floor. He was relieved to see that Riza didn't look angry, but instead calm as normal; although the reminder that Riza Hawkeye was calm in most situations struck him moments after and his intestines twisted painfully again.

Riza sighed and rested a hand on Edward's shoulder, frowning as the muscles beneath tensed at the touch. Her thumb moved back and forth in calming gesture. "Don't apologise." She told him.

"But…"

The lieutenant simply shook her head at him. "It's alright."

Edward opened his mouth to protest a little more when he noticed the warm smile on the blonde woman's face and that her eyes were gentle. Shutting his mouth gently, he fidgeted, feeling awkward. "I should go…" he said quietly, "I shouldn't have done that and…"

"I'm not angry, Edward…"

"I know!" He burst out, frustrated, looking towards her with a mix of emotions passing across his face. "I know… but…" Shrugging off her hand gently, he sank onto the worn leather couch and pressed his face into his palms with a sigh before lifting his head slightly to stare at his shoes. "I don't know…"

Riza's brow furrowed slightly and sat down beside him. "Do you know why you kissed me?" She asked quietly.

"… Winry told me once to do something about these visits…" Edward started. "I wasn't sure what she meant, but I had an idea and well…" he floundered, annoyed at how flustered he was, "that's what I decided to do to… to know where we stood I guess."

Riza was quiet for a few moments. "And do you know now?"

"No…" Edward muttered bitterly, "Not after that…"

"Look at me."

The alchemist clenched his jaw but lifted his face to her, meeting her gaze silently before starting slightly in shock when she leaned forward and covered his lips with her own.

The kiss was longer and more mature than the peck he had given, and told Edward and this was not Riza's first time at doing this. That or simply being older than he was gave her more knowledge in the field. As the pressure increased, Edward stopped thinking and simply allowed them to melt into each other, their faces tilted and an arm winding around the other's waist.

Pulling away slowly, they stared at each other before Edward shifted and his tongue darted to out to taste his lips. Riza watched him patiently, "and now?" She questioned.

A smile, a ghost of normal wide grin, appeared on the alchemist's face. "I think I know…" He replied flicking his gaze over to the fire where Hayate was watching them curiously before looking back at her. "But I think I need some time to think…"

Riza nodded in understanding and pulled herself away from him slowly. "That's understandable."

Edward looked at her sadly, noting the slight dullness that appeared in her eyes. "I'm sorry…"

The lieutenant shot him a reassuring smile. "I told you not to apologise." She reminded him.

Silence loomed for a few moments, broken only by the steady ticking of the clock on the wall and Black Hayate's whining at the negative atmosphere.

"I should go, then." Edward said slowly, standing.

"It's still snowing outside, you'll freeze." Riza pointed out.

Edward rubbed the back of his neck, but didn't say anything, instead frowning in thought.

Riza glanced out of the window at the darkening sky, "you can stay here if you want. It doesn't look at though it'll stop snowing before night comes."

"It's due to drop below freezing tonight too…" Edward added, grimacing. He looked over his shoulder at her. "If you don't mind…"

"It's fine." She assured him. "But if you want some space…" She added, furrowing her eyebrows at him.

The alchemist paused, thinking, before giving her a sheepish smile. "Maybe… maybe it would be good to work things out with you rather brooding about it back at my apartment; it'll only make Al bug me about what's bothering me anyway." His lips twitched up some more as he pictured his younger brother's concerned face. "So…" He shifted, "is it alright if I phone to let him know I won't be back tonight?"

Riza nodded. "Of course."

Edward thanked her and walked towards the hallway of the apartment, where he knew the phone was sitting on a long, thin table. He shrugged off his coat halfway, intending to hook it up on one of the pegs lining the hall's walls, but stopped when he realised how cold it was away from the warmth of the fire. Cursing the broken heating, he pulled the coat back on fully.

Riza was staring at the fire as the alchemist begun walking to find the phone, her expression gentle and pleased. She herself, admittedly, was a little confused with what was happening between them, but it wasn't an unwelcome change. A small part of her wanted to sit and think about it, but she knew talking about it would help them both to come to a decision. She started slightly out of her thoughts as a wet nose pressed against her fingertips.

Black Hayate licked her fingers, wagging his tail at her and barking once.

"Hungry?" She questioned the black and white dog as he bounded towards the kitchen. She watched as he disappeared out of sight before calling, "Edward?"

The blond man poked his head around the doorway leading to the hallway. "Yeah?"

Riza smiled at him. "We'll work it out." She told him. "I'll go and make dinner while you phone Alphonse."

Edward grinned at her. "I know."

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**Me: **Review? I'll continue soon!


	2. Setting Sun

**Me: **Chapter two! Enjoy. Concrit appreciated.

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Edward waited patiently for his brother to answer the phone, a steady ring sounding in his ear as the phone connected. Puffing out air through parted lips, he shifted his feet on the thinning carpet. With a frown, he began to tap his auto-mail foot to stop it freezing again now he wasn't near the fire. "Geez. How long does it take to answer the phone, Al…?" He muttered.

"_Hello?"_

The blond man started slightly at his brother's voice in his ear, before scowling and replying hotly, "Finally. It doesn't normally take you this long to answer the phone."

"_Sorry Brother, I was…" _Alphonse's apologetic voice halted, sounding embarrassed.

Edward raised an accusatory eyebrow, even though his younger brother wasn't there to see it, "were you feeding a cat again?" He questioned suspiciously.

"_It was hungry, Brother! It was mewing and…"_

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You felt sorry for it and decided to give it some food." Edward interrupted, exasperated. "Just as long as it's not there when I get back…" He added, letting the sentence hang.

"_It left soon after it finished its milk, don't worry." _Alphonse replied, sounding amused.

"Well at least you gave milk instead something edible…"

"_Milk _is _edible, Brother."_

Edward ignored that comment. "Anyway. I thought I'd phone up and let you know I'm staying at the lieutenant's tonight…"

Rustling sounded over Alphonse's end. _"Because of the snow?" _

"Yeah. My auto-mail won't agree with it, so I'm going to have to stay here."

A pause. _"Is it bothering you now, Brother?"_

"No, it's fine. You going to be ok until tomorrow morning?"

"_Yep! Make the most of your stay!"_

"What do you mean by that?"

"_Just… take Winry's advice, ok?"_

Edward frowned again. Alphonse a little too amused for his liking. "I already did take on her advice…" He muttered sourly, eyes switching over to the general direction of the kitchen.

"_Pardon? I didn't hear you…"_

"Uh… nothing, Al. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"_Sure, ok! Be careful with you auto-mail, don't let it get too cold."_

Edward rolled his eyes. "I won't." He promised, "See you tomorrow."

"_Bye, Brother!"_

The alchemist let out a weary sounding sigh as he heard a click, signalling that Alphonse had put down the phone and he followed suit, resting the receiver on its cradle.

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Riza Hawkeye had never found cooking difficult, but it was very hard to cut up ingredients with Black Hayate tugging at her trouser leg. She frowned sternly, and shook her leg slightly. "Stop that, Hayate." She ordered.

The dog let go, whining, and looked up at her with pleading brown eyes, ears drooped.

The lieutenant glanced over at the small circular clock on the wall. "Well, it is your dinnertime… I suppose you're hungry?"

Black Hayate barked once, standing up and wagging his tail hopefully.

Riza sighed. "Alright…" Finishing in slicing up the last the vegetables, she dumped them in the large brown pot sitting on the stove and reached up to open of the overhead cupboards. Fishing around inside, she produced a tin of dog food and walked over to where Black Hayate's food bowl was.

A few seconds later, Edward's voice sounded "I've phoned Al." He said, poking his head around the kitchen door frame.

"What did he say?" Riza asked, scooping the meat from the tin and holding up her hand to halt Black Hayate when he bent his head to start eating.

Edward raised an eyebrow, unsure whether to be amused or bewildered when the lieutenant began to give Hayate a set of commands, each of which the dog obeyed immediately, before allowing him to eat. "Some sort of routine?" He questioned, walking fully into the kitchen.

"You could say that." Riza answered, standing from her crouched position and going over to check on the contents of the brown pot. "Would you mind getting out the utensils and bowls?" She asked, reaching for a long wooden spoon and stirring the food with it.

"Ok. Where are they?" The alchemist said, heading to the cupboards and drawers that Riza pointed him to and removing the needed items. Shutting the cupboard door with his booted foot and closing the drawer with his hip, he turned back the blonde woman. "And where are we eating?"

"By the fire." Riza told him, "It's too cold to eat at the kitchen table." She paused, before adding, "Besides, your auto-mail will freeze up again."

"Alright… are you cold?"

Riza shook her head and turned around to smile gently at him at the concerned tone in his voice, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's warm by the stove." She answered him honestly, "go ahead and set out the bowls and get by the fire again." She told him.

A pause. "Ok…"

Riza heard a rustle behind her, and a shocked expression passed over her face briefly as Edward's heavy, warm coat was placed gently over her shoulders, the alchemist's hands rested for a seconds on her shoulders, before they were removed. She heard small clicking sounds in the back ground as Edward gathered up the bowls and utensils and headed out of the room quietly.

Black Hayate glanced up from his dinner bowl, looked up at his mistress and padded over to her to nudge her leg with his nose before hurrying after Edward to have some company by the fire.

Jolted out of her reverie by her dog's nose prod, Riza's free hand rose up to grasp at the hem of Edward's coat. "Well, at least things aren't awkward." She murmured, eyes soft, and she resumed in stirring.

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Edward settled himself on the leather couch, leaning back against it with a sigh. He had placed the bowls and utensils on the table next the settee and was now waiting for Riza to come into the room with whatever she had cooked for dinner.

Staring into the flames of the fire in front of him, Edward sighed. Truthfully, although he was grateful that there wasn't much tension between them after the little… incident, he still found his insides squirming when it came to thinking about spending the rest of the evening with her.

He groaned in irritation and tightened his right hand into an aggravated fist. "Stop being so pathetic." He ordered himself.

Black Hayate blinked at him from his spot, curled up in front of the fire like a cat.

"I guess I'll just have to deal with this evening as it comes, won't I?" He muttered to the dog, slightly annoyed when Hayate merely yawned and laid his head on his paws and shutting his eyes.

Edward leaned forwards with a frown. Even if they allowed their current relationship to grow to the 'next level', he didn't know if would be simple or complicated. He wasn't sure about others' reactions, and he didn't know if it was something they both wanted.

"How is it possible to know how you feel and not know what to do with it?" He growled to himself, covering his face with his flesh hand.

Whenever Edward had known how he felt about something, he almost always knew what to do with those feelings after some thought, but here… he didn't.

Shoulders sagging, he let his hand drop away from his face. "I'll wait until I can talk to her…" He murmured.

"I'm here."

Surprised, Edward sat up straight and turned around to face Riza.

She was holding the brown ceramic pot that been sitting on the stove with a pair of oven gloves. A metal ladle was inside. Edward's coat had been pulled on properly and she was smiling softly at him.

Resting the pot on the table, Riza began to dish out their meal into the bowls Edward had brought out. "Still confused?" She questioned, handing the alchemist his dinner.

The blond man took it from her, resting it in his lap without looking at it, gazing into the fire. "Yeah…" he sighed. He glanced down at his meal, the corners of his lips quirked up, "Stew?"

"Yes… don't you like stew?" Riza asked him, frowning at him as she carried her own bowl to sit down beside him.

"It's my favourite." Edward grinned at her.

The lieutenant's eyes softened, relieved. She scooped up a spoonful of her meal and ate it quietly. "What are confused about?" She questioned.

Edward hesitated, unsure as of how to answer, "The future." He replied, swallowing a mouthful of stew.

"The future?"

The alchemist nodded. "Because even if we… do let this," he waved a hand between the two of them, "grow into something more, will it be as easy and simply…" he struggled for a word, "doing more?" He finished, lamely.

Riza watched the embarrassed turmoil pass over the blond man's face, "Nothing's never simple when moving from friendship to a more loving one." She replied simply, her gaze falling to her bowl, "it's different with every relationship, with every two people involved."

Edward ate silently before venturing another question, "so what do you mean by that, exactly?"

"I mean that you can't predict what the outcome will be and that sometimes you have to take the chance for uncertain consequences to occur when you start something special." Riza explained, turning her eyes to him, frowning in concern as she watched him stare into the fire dejectedly. She could understand that Edward was confused and unsure about what was happening between them; he had, after all, never had the time to allow love and affectionate emotions to grow between him and someone else during his journey. But now, Alphonse was back and he unknowingly allowed it to happen. It had caught him by surprise and now he wasn't sure how to deal with it.

Riza had had lovers herself, when she younger and before she enlisted in the military, and grateful that she had at least some experience to help Edward out with concerning his feelings. "Do you know how you feel?" She questioned.

The alchemist nodded. "Yes…" He knew that he cared deeply for the lieutenant sitting beside him, and the feeling wasn't one he had before. It was one for a good friend, like Winry, or of that of a sibling, like Alphonse. It was something else, something that made his face go hot and his insides squiggle. The physical attraction had something to do with the reaction, but Edward knew that it was Riza as a person that managed to coax the emotions.

"And…" Riza paused, "do you know where you want to go with them?"

Edward nodded again, staring into his half empty bowl. "Yes, but…"

"You're unsure about it." The lieutenant answered for him, staring at him softly when he nodded once more slowly.

Riza swallowed a few bites of stew before setting down her bowl on the floor, and reaching out to rest her hand on the cool metal of Edward's exposed auto-mail wrist.

The alchemist didn't react right away, unable to feel the contact, instead finishing off his meal and noticing the lieutenant's hand there with his eyes. "Riza…?" He questioned, staring at her hand, before shrugging it off and grasping it instead with his metal hand. "Do you want to…?" He questioned quietly.

Riza paused, staring at Black Hayate as she came up with a final decision. The dog looked back at her with soulful brown eyes, before keening slightly. She nodded once and turned to face Edward, "I say we give it a chance, if you want to…" She replied.

Edward smiled at her, eyes warm. "Alright…" he agreed, leaning forwards to place a feather-light kiss on the side of the blonde woman's mouth, relaxing when Riza turned her head to allow their lips to cover fully.

The alchemist pulled away first, giving the lieutenant a wide smile, before leaning down and picking up Riza's bowl from the floor. "I'll take these into the kitchen." He told her, lifting up the bowls for emphasis before standing and walking towards the kitchen.

Riza watched him go, amused at his childish happiness.

Black Hayate leapt up to occupy Edward's space, pawing at Riza's upper arm.

The lieutenant rubbed his head absently. "At least it worked out…" She murmured, relieved.

The dog merely leaned into the touch of Riza's rough, slender fingers rubbing behind his ears. Content as he was, he wasn't all that happy, when a hard, metal, _cold_ thing poked his side roughly.

"That's _my _seat, Hayate." Edward told him with a frown, ushering the dog onto to the floor again.

Black Hayate gave him a reproachful look before curling up and lying on his mistress's feet with a small huff.

Riza raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as Edward sat down again beside her. Closer than before, she noticed.

Mood lighter and mind clearer, Edward leaned against the back of the old leather couch with a grin. He looked over at the lieutenant and received a smile from her, which coaxed his insides to give a little squirm in response.

Watching her as she in turn watched Black Hayate, Edward wondered whether it was love that made Riza Hawkeye look so beautiful then, the light of the flames reflecting and dancing on her cheeks and shining in her eyes.

"Like a setting sun…" he murmured, before blinking, wondering where the poetic reference had come from.

Riza tilted her head at him, "do you say something, Edward?"

The alchemist shook his head and raised a hand in denial, "No!" He replied, embarrassed. He sighed when the blonde woman blinked at him before turning to watch the fire. "These feelings are strange…" he muttered, too quietly for Riza to hear, as he covered his face with his left hand to hide the red on his cheeks.

It couldn't hide his smile, though.

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**Me: **Review? Two more chapters left of this! Keeping this one short, haha...


	3. Hot Water

**Me: **Back to writing again! Here's chapter three!

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A sharp knocking at the door jolted the peaceful atmosphere.

Edward twisted around, "I'll get it." He offered when Riza leant forwards. He stood and padded over to the front door, grasping the handle and pulling the door open,

A young man, barely out of his teens, grubby and tired, stood in the doorway with a weary expression on his face.

Edward blinked, surprised. "It's you." He commented, recognising him as the guy who had gone around telling the residents about the broken heating. Golden eyes glanced at the plastic name tag pinned lopsidedly on his dirty jacket. "Um… Gary."

"Yeah." The man, Gary, replied, wrinkling up his nose to prevent a sneeze and sniffling noisily; wiping at his dripping nostrils with the back of his woollen glove with a grunt.

Edward made a face of disgust.

"Just coming around to tell you that they've got the heating fixed." Gary informed him, stuffing hi hands into his pockets and shuffling on the spot.

The alchemist sighed in relief. Hopefully now it wouldn't take too long for the heating to start and get the apartment nice and warm again. "Thanks." He told the grubby informative.

"No problem." Gary muttered, giving in and sneezing loudly.

Edward felt a small twinge of sympathy that the man had to walk around in the cold for a good bit longer, but a second look at his overall grubbiness prevented him from inviting the man inside to warm up for a bit. Plus, everyone else would like to know the heating was back on, right? Right.

"Well, enjoy." Gary told him as an afterthought as he waved a careless hand in a lazy farewell and shuffled down the hallway.

The blond man stared after him with a raised eyebrow before shaking his head and shutting the door, walking back inside. He peered his head into the living room to inform Riza of their visitor and his news, and blinked, perplexed, when he noticed the lieutenant was no longer in the room. He frowned, wondering where she had gone.

"Who was that?"

"Gah!" Edward shouted in surprise when Riza's voice sounded suddenly in his ear. He whirled around, one hand clutching his shirt and eyes wide and wild looking.

The blonde woman blinked at him, "are… you alright?"

Edward's own eyes blinked once or twice before he finally composed himself and cleared his throat, fighting off the heat that was invading his cheeks. "Yeah." He replied, sounding both embarrassed and annoyed at the same time. "And that was the umm… dirty informant man." He added, in response to her earlier question.

"The… 'dirty informant man'?" Riza repeated, confused. She was drying her hands on a chequered tea towel, and Edward could see their bowls and utensils from their meal on the drying rack. Apparently she had done the dishes while he had answered the door.

"Yeah, the guy who came around earlier to tell us about the broken heating." Edward elaborated, following Riza back to the leather couch. "They've got it working again, now."

The lieutenant nodded. "That's good." She replied, resting her elbows on the back of the settee instead of sitting on it.

Edward tilted his head. Riza's voice sounded far-off, like she was thinking about something. "His name was Gary." He ventured, waiting for a response.

"I see."

The alchemist frowned, "You okay?" He questioned, reaching out with his left hand to touch her shoulder gently.

Riza turned her head to face and him and nodded, standing straight and offering a tiny smile of reassurance. "Yes, sorry."

Edward lifted his shoulders at her in a sheepish shrug, "Don't apologise." He told her, mimicking what she had said to him earlier that evening. Golden eyes watched her own eyes go warm before flicking to watch Black Hayate by the fire, and becoming glazed as she in turn became lost in thought.

Guessing that maybe the blonde woman wanted some space to think (which was perfectly understandable, in his opinion), he asked her, "Do you mind if I use your shower?"

A few moments passed before Riza answered, "Of course you can use it." She told him, "thought you might have to wait for a bit for the heating to make the water hot."

Edward grinned at her, "Alright. Thanks."

* * *

Sitting down on the edge of Riza's porcelain bathtub while he waited for the water running from the overhead shower to turn hot, Edward pondered his next move. His brow furrowed as he wondered just _what_, exactly, what one did after confessing.

Edward scratched his head with his right, cold hand, fiddling with his belt buckle with his left hand. Auto-mail, although very flexible in its own right, was not very good for… fiddly jobs, plus the metal of the artificial fingers slipped on the shiny surface of the buckle.

Kicking off and away his now loose trousers, Edward fingered the hem of his shirt in thought. Did he ask Riza out on a date? Dinner? Entertainment?

The furrowed brow deepened into a scowl as he pulled off his shirt and tossed it to join his trousers. He could just imagine Winry sighing and calling him hopeless for not knowing, Alphonse standing in the background smiling at him sheepishly.

Pride prevented him from going to either of them for advice, and he settled for deciding to take her out to an elegant meal somewhere. He mood darkened some more when it occurred to him that he didn't actually know any particularly good restaurants.

Tugging off his underwear rather violently and throwing it to join his pile of clothes, he clambered into the shower and tested the water temperature with his left hand. He had to be careful not to let the water get too hot, as it would make his auto-mail very hot, which was not all that comfortable for the sensitive, scarred skin surrounding the ports.

Satisfied with the tepid water, he stepped under the spray fully, leaning against the polished tiled wall and letting the water simply soak and warm him. Grateful for the cosy feeling of being warm again, he allowed his mind to wander and daydream about the evening he planned to invite Riza too.

He had to start somewhere after all, right? Was the thought he forced himself to chant mentally when he stumbled upon a particularly embarrassing or cheesy idea, such as bowing and offering his arm.

How was one supposed to act during a date anyway? Edward had never been very good at being perfectly polite for an extended period of time. He worried the inside of his cheek as he groped for the shampoo. Making a face at the floral title, _'Delicate Lavender' _(he was going to have to avoidpeople getting too close to his hair for a bit, having people comment on lavender-smelling-hair he was surely going to have was not appealing.), he squirted a small dollop of the light purple liquid and rubbed it thoroughly into his hair and scalp.

Maybe it would be just be best to be himself, he supposed, tilting his head back and rinsing out the suds, wiping any stray soap away from his closed eyes. Riza liked him just fine as he was, right? So there really was no need to be perfectly polite or charming or even go out of his away to impress her with his amazing personality.

Because, really, that method much too like a certain General Bastard for his liking.

Plonking down the shampoo and picking up its conditioner neighbour (again, another flower scent, much his displeasure. Then again, he was in a woman's bathroom.), he squirted some of the creamy contents into his palm and worked it into his hair, wondering about what sort of restaurant he would take her to.

He supposed he could always go looking for a particularly nice one the next time he had any free time. He didn't have to ask her to go somewhere with him straight away, right? Edward stopped washing the conditioner out of his blond hair and paused to wonder how long one waited to ask someone ask anyway.

Just spending time would good be enough until he got used to dates and things wouldn't it? The alchemist resumed rinsing his hair and let drape down his back as he reached for the soap and began to wash himself clean. Surely just being himself and going with how things went naturally between the two of them would be enough for Riza, for him?

_Yes,_ he decided, switching off the shower and stepping out onto the fluffy white bathmat placed thoughtfully beside the bathtub and sitting himself back down on the side of the tub. "She really does think of everything…" he murmured, reaching out to grab one of the blue towels hanging on the wall next to him.

Rubbing his hair vigorously with the towel, Edward watched small droplets of water slip down his wet legs, off of slick skin and shimmering metal to be soaked up by the fibres of the bathmat. Golden eyes glazed over as he became lost in thought about things like the future, the drying of his hair soon stopping into a lazy stop.

It was Black Hayate's small, excited yelp that jolted the alchemist out of his thoughts a few minutes later, and he gathered up the towel that had gone slack in his hands and about to fall to the floor. Standing, he folded up the towel and placed it neatly back on the rack.

Lifting a second dry towel, Edward began the long and tedious task of carefully drying his auto-mail so that it was perfectly bone dry. The amount of stern lectures, and bashes to head with a well-aimed wrench, he had gotten for neglecting to dry it correctly and increase the chance of rusting and damage had drilled the procedure firmly into Edward's brain as his left hand began moving the towel over the metal of his right on auto-pilot.

This time, the blond haired man did not drift off into his own thoughts, strayed by the prospects of the future, instead amused by Black Hayate sniffing insistently at the crack at the bottom of the bathroom door.

"What do you want?" He muttered to the dog, plopping himself down on the toilet to dry his left leg. With his right, he nudged his foot to the crack, his big toe brushing against the small sliver of wet Hayate nose.

The black and white dog snorted and Edward saw a flash of pink tongue.

"Your certainly have a way with dogs, Edward." Riza's amused voice floated to him from the other side of the door.

"I kind of wish I didn't." The alchemist replied dryly, standing and settling the second used towel on the rack beside the first and he started to pull back on his clothes.

There was a noise that sounded like a muffled chuckle and footsteps leading away from the door as Riza left, Black Hayate's pattering of feet following soon after.

* * *

Stepping back out into the lounge, clean and smelling of lavender, Edward looked around when he found the room to be empty. He opened his mouth to call the lieutenant's name, but quickly closed again when Riza poked her head around the door.

"Done?" She questioned, entering the room fully, revealing that she had changed into a pair of dark blue pyjamas while Edward had been in the shower. Her long blonde hair was settled around her shoulders and her earrings had been removed.

"Er… yeah." Edward replied, a little distracted by the fact that blue was very much Riza's colour. "So… where do you want me to sleep?" He questioned, steering the conversation where he could answer things more fully, which would hopefully keep his mind off of silly little things like Riza looked good in blue.

But then again… they were talking about beds now.

Edward made a strange sound that sounded like a mix between a squeak a choke.

Riza frowned at him, concerned. "Are you alright?" She questioned, walking forwards.

"Fine, fine!" The alchemist reassured hastily, lifting his left hand and waving it around, desperately trying to squash down the rising heat of a red blush in his cheeks.

"Are you sure… you look red." Riza pointed out.

"I'm fine." Edward insisted, focusing with the best of his ability and successfully managing to get control back. "So yeah, why am I…?"

"Sleeping?" The lieutenant finished, resting her chin in her palm as she thought. "Well, I don't have an extra bed so I guess you'll have to use the couch…"

Edward nodded, understanding. He supposed Riza felt a little bad to give him the couch to sleep on, but he didn't mind. The worn sofa was comfy and soft, and it wouldn't be too hard to comfortable. "That's fine." He told her, giving her a small ghost of a grin.

"Sure?"

"Of course."

Riza let her hand fall to her side before pulling up her arms and crossing them across her chest. "Alright, I'll go and find you a blanket then." She said, turning around and crossing the room in search of one. She paused at the doorway, one hand wrapped around the door frame and she looked over her shoulder, looking as though she wanted to say something.

When nothing came, Edward tilted his head at her and offered her a small smile, "yeah?"

"Edward…" A pause. "… It's nothing, sorry."

The alchemist ignored the slight twinge of hurt. "You're sure?"

Another pause, then a nod. "Yes. Do you want anything comfier to sleep in, by the way?"

Edward glanced down at his attire thoughtfully. If he removed his belt, what he was wearing now seemed comfortable enough. "Nah. Besides, I don't think you have anything that would fit me." A cheeky smile.

Riza cocked an eyebrow, amused. "Sure about that."

The teasing tone made Edward's smile vanish and he scowled. "Don't mention my you-know-what." He muttered, seemingly out of habit.

The blonde woman laughed softly, leaving the room.

Edward flopped onto the sofa after she left. "Wonder what she was going to say…?"

* * *

**Me: **Small-ish cliffhanger there, bahaha. I love writing Ed XD I'm not very good at him, but I do enjoy it. Review please?


	4. Now

**Me: **Last chapter! Enjoy.

* * *

Curled up under the blanket Riza had given him, with Black Hayate curled up on his feet, Edward was pretty warm. His left arm dangled over the edge of the couch and a clump of blond hair was spread out on the arm of the sofa, destined to be tangled in the morning. Snoring a little in his sleep, he turned his face into the worn leather material of the furniture.

_Thunk._

Edward jolted up, his hair sticking to his face, as he looked around wildly and sleepily at what made the loud noise. Beside him, Hayate flicked one ear lazily and opened an eye.

The alchemist sat up, tugging his legs from underneath the black and white dog (earning a yelp in indignation) and swung them over the side of the settee, frowning. The clock on the wall, its surface glinting slightly underneath the pale moonlight, showed that it was around three o'clock in the morning.

Suppressing a yawn and stretching, he stood and glanced around.

_Clank._

Bewildered, Edward turned his head to the source of the sound; the floor.

Black Hayate jumped off of the couch to join him, sniffing at the ground with his ears perked.

"What's going on?" Riza's voice questioned from the doorway.

Edward jumped a little, caught unawares and turned to face her, shrugging. "No idea, the floor just… uh… _clunked."_

Riza cocked an eyebrow and crossed the room smoothly to stand beside him, before frowning herself when another ominous noise sounded from beneath their feet. "I hope the heating isn't failing again."

It took quite a bit of self restraint for Edward not to groan out loud at the thought of it being cold again. His frantic inner hopes that it would stay warm were ignored rather spectacularly, however, when a loud '_bzzt' _sounded, and the lights flickered before going out completely.

"Oh, well that just _fantastic." _Edward commented sourly, crossing his arms in both his annoyance and the preparation to keep whatever body heat he left.

"They really need to sort this out." Riza said from beside him, her voice sounded irritated as well in the dark, "it's bad enough with no heating in winter, but for the electricity to go too…" she trailed off, thinking hard as she made her way slowly in the pitch black over the couch, careful not to trip over a whining Black Hayate. She reached out to grab the blanket Edward had been sleeping under and walked over slowly back over to him.

Edward jolted slightly when she wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. He tilted his head over his shoulder to look at her blindly in the dark with a curious expression.

"So you don't get cold." She explained, at his silence.

"Thanks." He replied, smiling despite the fact she couldn't see it. He shivered a little as the temperature in the room dropped. "Now what?"

"Wait it out, I suppose." Riza replied grimly, making her way back to the sofa and sitting down with a small sigh. "Are you going to be alright?" She questioned after a bit, remembering that it would colder now, in the middle of the night, than it had been earlier.

"Yeah." Edward replied firmly, moving back over to join her, the blanket wrapped tightly around himself. "But I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep now." He commented grimly. He hesitated for a moment after sitting the dark silence for a while before removing some of the blanket and wrapping it around Riza's shoulders. "Can't let you get cold too." He told her in the darkness.

Riza gently, pulling the blanket closer around herself, but her eyes widened when her bare arm came into contact with Edward's auto-mail. The metal was freezing. "Edward…"

"Hmm?" The alchemist replied quietly beside her. Despite his claim that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep again, his eyelids had drooped a little and he found himself very comfortable indeed sitting beside Riza. He was jolted out of dazed state, however, when the woman beside him tugged at his arm. "What?" He questioned, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"Are your ports bothering you?" The question was short and direct and Edward could tell from the tone that she was not happy with him saying he would be fine.

"No." The blond man replied honestly, "they're warm. As long as I keep them like this, they'll be fine." He explained shortly, not wanting to discuss his auto-mail particularly. He didn't mention that his left leg felt a little stiff and leaned back into the couch in an attempt to get back to the sleepy state he had been in before.

Riza didn't press the issue further, pulling up her legs to curl them beside her.

* * *

The blonde woman wasn't sure when they had fallen asleep, but she was awoken a few hours later by Black Hayate doing his usual morning habit of licking her feet. She nudged him away with her foot and frowned when she noticed that the room wasn't any warmer than it had been last night. The lights that had been on before the power cut were on now, though, and she was relieved that the electricity was back.

Turning her head, she was amused to see Edward's face buried half in the sofa and half in her hair and neck. "You're going to have a very stiff neck in that position." She murmured, moving away gently so as not to shock him awake and shaking him gently.

Edward cracked open sleepy golden eyes and looked back at her groggily. "…What?" He mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes with his left hand. "Uh… ow." He grunted, wincing and rubbing his neck.

"You slept in a bad position." Riza explained as the alchemist flexed his neck to try and rid himself of the stiffness.

Massaging the cramped muscles, Edward looked over at the clock, noting the time to be seven o'clock. "What time do you have to be in at…at…" he trailed off and began to yawn, covering his mouth with an unsteady metal right hand."

"Nine." Riza replied, removing the blanket from herself but making sure that it stayed around Edward. "They've given us extra time to get there because of all the snow and ice." She explained. "I see you weren't listening when that was explained." She commented at Edward's thoughtful expression as he tried to remember when that had been said.

"I don't listen to the bastard half the time, let alone when I'm cold and grumpy." Edward muttered, sitting up a little straighter and flexing his right shoulder, pleased to feel it working correctly. "At least my arm works fine, though." He said, missing Riza's slight headshake about his comment on listening to his superior.

When he went to stand up, however, he nearly fell over when his left leg refused to move and flopped back onto the sofa with a scowl.

"What's wrong?" Riza questioned, watching him as he tried to move the leg and frowning at the jerky movements.

"It's frozen up." He replied darkly, pulling the warm blanket from around his shoulder and rubbing the metal to try and get it warm. "It should be fine once the circuitry has warmed up, though, unless…" he made a face as a nasty thought occurred to him, "unless it's iced up and in which case, when it melts…"

"…it's going to get wet." Riza finished for him. She stood and held out a hand when she saw him moving to stand again, not wanting to fall over.

"I don't think it's that bad though. The foot's moving again." Edward said, taking her hand gratefully and allowing her to help pull him upright. He flexed his foot, satisfied when it began working fluently. "The knee, however…"

Riza watched quietly as she watched the alchemist attempt to move his knee, noticing the slight pained grimace on his face. "Sore?"

"A little." Edward admitted, rubbing it absently.

It was a moment or two before both decided that it was uncomfortable simply standing there in the living room and Riza begun to help Edward across the room into the kitchen.

Flopping down on one of the wooden chairs, Edward grabbed his left leg with both hands and begun flexing the knee joint physically with both of them. The metalwork creaked a little in protest but soon quietened after a while. "Just needs a bit of persuasion." Edward muttered dryly, setting his leg back on the floor and rubbing away the ache in the flesh around the port with an auto-mail thumb.

Riza didn't say anything in reply to that, instead walking over to sit beside him. It was at least half an hour before she said "I hope that the office is warm."

Edward nodded in grim agreement.

* * *

Stepping outside, Edward made a face at the harsh winter breeze that slapped him in the face. "I _hate _winter." He growled, stuffing his hands in his pockets and stepping out of the apartment block, one of feet stuck out to hold the door open for Riza.

"At least it's stopped snowing." The blonde woman pointed out, shutting the door behind them and glancing around at their cold surroundings. The snow was a good few inches deep and the places where pedestrians had walked and beaten it down were hard and icy.

Edward didn't seem to hear her, tramping through the snow and muttering darkly under his breath. Unlike Riza, he wasn't wearing his uniform as he hadn't really thought to bring it with him when he had gone to visit the lieutenant last night, and was not looking forward to crap he was going to get from Mustang when he arrived. Edward didn't really understand why this was such a problem when he had gone around in his own clothing for a good number of years before.

He turned around to address this point with Riza (who had offered to lend Edward one of her spare uniforms, though he had denied the offer), when his right foot slipped out from under him and he found himself spinning, out of control, and bumping into a nearby icy lamppost. A lump of snow that had been resting, undisturbed at its top trembled before falling and landing with a _splat _on Edward's head.

Riza covered her mouth to smother her gentle laughing, before walking over to him and brushing the snow and ice off of him.

"I really, _really _don't like winter." Edward growled darkly, walking side by side with Riza along the frozen path to Central Headquarters. Inwardly, he was glad that Riza had chosen to live so close to work, as it meant that the journey was short and hopefully to be devoid of anymore accidents.

The rest of the journey passed by in cold silence as Edward pondered furiously over the thoughts he'd been having last night in the shower, partly because they had been nagging at the back of mind since then, and partly because he didn't want to be thinking of a smirking Mustang he would surely encounter later, accompanied by a sarcastic comment about his snow-soaked clothing.

Stepping inside the warm lobby of the military building, Edward sighed in relief and kicked the snow off of his boots and rolled his joints. He noticed out of the corner of his eye Riza nodding a greeting to the secretary at the front desk and spontaneously reached out and grabbed the blonde woman's hand.

She turned, a little startled, "Edward?"

"Can I talk to you for a second?" He questioned, his words a little rushed.

"Of course…" She started, but was cut off.

"Good." Edward tugged her over to a secluded corner of the lobby, trying to ignore the curious looks of the secretary. He hesitated, fidgeted, and stuffed his hands back in his pockets and taking them out again.

"Edward?" Riza tried again, raising an eyebrow at his nervousness.

"Do you… want to go to dinner with me tonight?" Edward asked finally staring pointedly at the small space of floor between their boots and hoping fervently that there wasn't a patch of red splayed across his cheeks and nose.

There was a pause before Riza replied, "that would be lovely."

Edward blinked, a little surprised, before grinning widely. "Great! That little restaurant down the main road sound good after our shift?"

She nodded, smiling, her eyes warm.

Edward couldn't remember clearly right then when he had felt so ridiculously happy and leaned forwards to press a quick, spur-of-the-moment kiss on her cheek and saying in a voice that was too bright for the suggestion, "better head to the office then."

"Yes." Riza agreed, hiding her amusement carefully that Edward's good mood would disappear soon after they arrived at said office. She followed him down the hallway quietly, her face gentle and the corners of her lips quirked up. This earned her a few curious looks, including an inquisitive question from Roy about her oddly good mood.

"Just some good things happening right now, sir, that's all." She replied quietly and politely, handing him a new stack of papers to sign.

* * *

**Me: **I'm not sure whether to leave this story here or go on with it XD. Review and tell me what you think? I'm perfectly happy with leaving this here but if people would like some more I might write another chapter or two later.


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